


The girl who loved

by Aurora_ivy



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Eventual Romance, Eventual Smut, F/M, Falling In Love, Fanfiction, Fluff, Fluff and Smut, Fred Weasley Lives, Friends to Lovers, Friendship/Love, Hogwarts, Love, Magic, My First Fanfic, Original Character(s), Post-Battle of Hogwarts, Post-Hogwarts, Romance, Sexual Tension, Smut, Tension, Witches, Wizards
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-11
Updated: 2021-02-11
Packaged: 2021-03-17 03:42:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 15,937
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29343768
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aurora_ivy/pseuds/Aurora_ivy
Summary: Cooped up in her small flat in the heart of Paris, Florence Bardeau couldn't stop replaying the images of the second wizarding war in her head. Fleeing to a different country, in her mind, was the best way to escape and to try and cope with the war on her own. Leaving her friends and family was not an easy task, but was necessary thing for her to do.But one day in the summer of 1999, Florence saw a very familiar owl drop by a letter to her flat from a special person in her life.................................................An AU where Fred Weasley and other characters, that you will be seeing in the future, do not die because it's my story and I do what I want :pthis story will also contain strong language and smut that may not be suitable for younger readers (16+ porfavor)All rights for the characters (Except the Bardeau family), magic, spells, etc. go to JK Rowling.
Relationships: Fred Weasley/Original Female Character(s), original - Relationship
Comments: 2
Kudos: 7





	1. Chapter 1

In the early morning of summer 1999, Florence Bardeau awoke from yet another nightmare. This nightmare was a recurring one that she couldn’t seem to get rid of no matter how much she tried. A year had passed since the second wizarding war, and in her eyes, she seems to be the only one who’s still not over all that happened.

Seeing the lifeless bodies of her fellow peers and professors and deadly curses whirring past her left and right was not how she foresaw her final year at Hogwarts. The wizarding school she had spent seven years at and made so many memories and friends in looked gloomy, dark, and broken down as she stood there trying to look for her family and friends. 

Florence hated the fact that the war had affected her that much because she knew that other people had it worse. The war had taken so much from so many people. Family, friends, loved ones. Florence hadn’t lost anybody but seemed as though she lost a piece of her soul that day, a piece of herself that she will never get back. 

Florence, in her mind, thought that maybe, just maybe, she is finally getting over everything, but the recurring nightmares bring her right back to where she was that horrible day. After her nightmare, she laid in her bed in the early hours of the morning, with a thousand thoughts in her head that she can never seem to get rid of. 

The aftermath of the second wizarding war put a toll on the young witch to the point where she had to leave everything behind just so she could get away. Deciding to leave was one of the hardest things Florence had ever experienced, but in her mind, she thought that doing so was the best thing for her. 

Trying to flee to a different country without telling anyone wasn’t an easy task to do because she had friends and family that would immediately notice that her once lively presence wasn't there anymore. She knew leaving would hurt a lot of people. Especially two very special boys that have been there for her since their first year.

Fred and George Weasley had befriended Florence as soon as she sat down at the Gryffindor table. The trio clicked and from then on, their relationship blossomed even further. From pranking every student in the school to playing Quidditch together and helping the twins with making their dream of opening a joke shop come true, the three of them were inseparable. 

The thought of having to leave them was heartbreaking. Fred and George were there for her during everything, as she was for them. The Weasley family welcomed her with open arms and loved her immensely. It was as though she had a second family that she could always turn to. 

She treated Ron and Ginny as a brother and sister she never had, Charlie, Bill, and Percy also being the big brothers that she's always wanted. She also loved Arthur and Molly as if they were her parents. 

Florence's parents have been good friends with Arthur and Molly since they were in Hogwarts, so when Florence had befriended the twins, it came as no shock to them. 

She was always welcomed at the Weasley’s humble abode and was told to treat their home as a place where she could always come to in a time of need. Florence spent her summers at the Burrow and often celebrated Christmas with the family. Celebrating Christmas at the Burrow had become a tradition that she loved dearly. The Bardeau and Weasley family all came together and celebrated like one big family.

Laying in the bedroom of her small flat in the heart of Paris, feeling the cool summer breeze coming through her window, Florence thought of her friends and family, especially her parents. Norvina and Eason Bardeau loved their daughter more than anything. 

They loved her to pieces and would give her the world if she asked. Florence couldn’t bring herself to leave without telling her parents. Of course, they weren’t pleased with Florence’s decision but also understood in a way from remembering their experience of the first wizarding war. 

Norvina and Eason participated in both the first, and second wizarding war, and were also active members of the Order alongside their lifelong friends, Remus Lupin and Sirius Black. 

Norvina and Eason were friends with the Marauders and with Molly and Arthur in their Hogwarts days. Eason was always one for mischief with Sirius and James always causing some kind of ruckus during their school times, while Norvina, Lily, and Remus enjoyed laughing at their antics. 

Everything went downhill when Peter betrayed Lily and James and framed Sirius. With the events of Sirius going to Azkaban, dealing with James’ and Lily’s death, the once inseparable bunch broke apart. But with the second wizarding war upon them and the Great Order returning, the once big friend group, without two very important people, rekindled their friendship. 

Florence often receives letters from her parents about how everyone is doing. Over the year, everything seemed to have gone back to normal in the wizarding world. With the help of Eason and Arthur, Sirius’ name was cleared by the Ministry and now Remus and Sirius live together in Grimmauld Place with Harry. 

Hermione, Harry, and Ron started working at the Ministry, and Fred and George's shop was doing better than anyone could have ever imagined. Her parents often tried to convince Florence to come back to England but were shut down by her every time. She wanted to come back, she really did. But something was holding her back and she didn't understand what. 

Maybe it's the thought of everyone forgetting about her and moving on with their lives, while she lay in her bed every night and stayed up thinking about everyone? Or was it the fact that she had to face her two best friends that she left without saying goodbye? 

“What the fuck is wrong with me,” she said out loud.

Not saying goodbye to the twins was probably one of her biggest regrets. They were there for her for everything and her just fleeing the country and not saying goodbye was probably one of the cruelest things she had ever done to them. 

Florence often asked her parents in her letters how the twins were doing and if they're mad at her, and her parents always said that they are doing great and are happy. She was so happy for them that their life-long dream came true and are doing amazingly, but felt a pang of sadness at the thought that she couldn't experience it with them. 

The thought of her making a mistake moving to France was always in the back of her mind. There is always a little voice in her head that says that she's only hurting other people by moving and that she has probably made one of the worst mistakes she could have made. Florence was definitely one to overthink a lot of things, the situation with the twins being one of them. She often thought that if she came back they would resent and hate her. She hated being so conflicted all the time and just wanted to “suck it up” and come back and face them, tell them that she’s sorry. Maybe one day she finally will, when she has that courage to finally leave and face all the problems she ran away from a year ago. 

She tossed and turned for another hour, so many thoughts circling through her mind when, finally, she fell asleep.

* * *

Florence awoke the next morning feeling exhausted. Her sleep schedule the past year has been horrible. Granted going to sleep at around 4 am every night was not ideal but she couldn’t avoid it. In moments like these Florence was thankful that she worked in the evenings instead of in the early hours of the day. 

When Florence just moved to Paris the first thing she wanted to do was find a job. She needed a source of income to keep up with the rent of her flat and for other necessities. During the weekday she works at a small bar as a bartender about 10 minutes away from her flat. She enjoyed working there. 

Before moving to France and before the war, Florence worked at The Three Broomsticks. The lively atmosphere filled with happy intoxicated people having humorous conversations everywhere she turned made her forget about her problems and let her indulge in conversations with all kinds of people with different backgrounds and experiences. 

At around 7 pm she started getting ready for work after lounging around the house for the entire day. She threw on a black t-shirt and simple black jeans, gathered her things, and headed out the door. The city was always filled with people at this time, sitting in restaurants, couples walking around hand in hand, families having fun. She loved going on little walks before work to get some fresh air and to look at the atmosphere around her. When she got to work she said her hellos to her coworkers and went to the back to get ready. It was a Friday night and the bar was already filled with people. 

At around 3 am she finally finished her shift. She got home, changed into pajamas, and immediately fell asleep as her head hit her pillow.


	2. Chapter 2

Florence woke up the next morning at around 9 am. She decided to have a lie-in and just have a lazy day, as she didn't have to go to work that day. While making breakfast Florence thought about a conversation she had with a few boys from America that were celebrating a bachelor party. The slightly intoxicated men chatted with Florence about what living in America is like and why the groom and bride decided to have their wedding in Paris. She was told all about the beautiful engagement and about the groom and bride’s love story.

Florence wasn’t one to believe the whole love at first sight spiel but listening to the groom talk about how he fell for his soon-to-be-wife, truly touched her heart. The group of boys also asked her why she’s in Paris and a little about her life. Of course, leaving out the unneeded details of Florence being a witch, she conversed with the group of men about how she had moved to Paris only a year ago and that she lived in England. Being as intoxicated as they were, they tried to mimic Florence’s British accent very poorly but she laughed nonetheless at their attempt and just enjoyed being in the company of people who were happy and having a good time. 

While daydreaming and making her breakfast Florence was caught off guard when she heard the squawk of an owl coming towards her sitting-room window. She was expecting it to be her family owl, Miles, delivering a letter from her parents. 

Her parents sent her a letter every two weeks and it was always on a Saturday morning so she was surprised when she saw a clumsy owl flying towards her window. Without slowing down, the uncoordinated owl crashed abruptly into Florence’s window.

She immediately ran towards the poor owl and as she got closer she realised it was an owl she had become very fond of over the years.

“E-Errol?” said Florence with confusion in her voice. “You poor thing, are you okay? Some things never change, do they?” 

While Errol got his bearings again, she noticed he had a letter in his beak. Wearily taking the letter she gave the ungraceful owl some treats and sent him away.

Florence stood in her sitting room for a good five minutes staring at the letter with her name on it written with sloppy handwriting, that she only knew to be Fred’s.

So many questions swarmed her mind while standing there staring at the slightly yellow letter. Why would Fred send a letter? How did he find out her location? Did something happen? Is he going to finally give her shit for leaving England without saying goodbye to him and George?

“Nope, I think avoiding my problems right now sounds much better,” she said to herself as she put the letter on her coffee table and went to her kitchen to have her breakfast.

An hour had passed from her getting the letter and she still hadn't opened it. .

After a long while, just absentmindedly staring at the letter, she picked it up and decided to open it.

“How bad can it be?” she said, trying to convince herself.

When she opened the letter the familiar scent of fireworks and cinnamon flooded her senses as she started reading.

_Florrie,_

_I know this letter is probably the thing you are least expecting to see right now, but I don’t think I can go any longer not writing you something to at least see for myself how you are doing._

_Knowing you and how you like to overthink every single bloody situation, you probably only read this letter after, like, four hours of getting it._

“Git,” she muttered with a slight smirk. 

_But anyway, I wanted to check-in and see how you are doing. I know you don’t want to talk to anyone but I thought I could be an exception. I mean come on, who would resist talking to Fred Weasley?_

__

_Everyone back home misses you so much. Mum doesn’t stop talking about you and how she misses you and don’t even get me started on Ginny. She asks about you non-stop and honestly worries about you (maybe even too much). I swear she’s turning into you with the overthinking and worrying. If you ever come back you’re paying for her constantly talking my fucking ear off about you. I swear I think at this point she might even be in love with you._

_We opened the shop after a few months after everything happened and it’s doing so well. I wish you were here to experience everything with us, Flora. It was the three of our dream after all…_

_I hope you’re doing well, Florrie, and that you’re happy. You’re probably frolicking around Paris with some french git who can’t speak English properly. You always had a weird obsession for french guys._

_In all seriousness, we all miss you so much, especially me and George. I know your parents have tried to get you to come back or at least visit and you haven’t even given them a chance (your stubbornness hasn’t changed as I can see) and I know that me trying to convince will most likely not work either but it’s worth a shot isn’t it?_

_I’m not even asking you to come back for good, but at least to come to visit? I want to show you around the shop and to just see you and fuck around with you and George and prank Ron or Percy like we used to._

_You know I’m not one for all the sappy shit, I’ll leave that job for mum or Ginny, but I miss you. Please think over what I’ve asked_

_Freddie_

_(p.s. Sorry if Errol crashes into your window, you know he’s not the brightest of owls)_

Florence read over the letter at least 3 more times after initially reading it. At that moment sitting in her living room, she realised just how much she missed everyone, especially Fred. Seeing Fred write about how Ginny misses her broke her heart. She always considered Ginny as a little sister and was always there for her, from listening to her rant about how Harry was a git a certain day or just talking about quidditch.

She pondered over if she should write back. What would she even write back? 

“Sorry for being a twat and not saying goodbye.” “I’ve been sulking for the past year rather than frolicking around with a french guy.”

She decided she had to write something back, but didn’t know what just yet. She felt a pang in her heart with memories of being at the Burrow. Playing quidditch with everyone, sitting around the table with multiple conversations happening around her, enjoying the summers, and being genuinely happy. 

She put the letter on the coffee table and decided to write back later in the evening. Florence went into her room and threw on a pale blue sundress and decided to go out for some fresh air and enjoy her day off.

She walked around mindlessly for hours around the city enjoying the weather. It was already the evening when she decided to go and grab a bite to eat in a little cafe not too far from her home.

As she sat down she heard a voice calling her name in a thick French accent. 

“Florence!” As she turned to see who it was she noticed that it was one of her co-workers, Amélie.

“Amélie!”The two women embraced.

“What are you doing here?” asked Amélie.

“I was just walking around the city for a few hours and decided to grab a bite to eat. How about you?”

“I was shopping, I needed some new clothes”

“You always are,” Florence said grinning. “Care to join me? I’d love some company.”

“Of course!” Amélie said setting her bags down next to the table.

The two women had a casual conversation about work and about what Amélie had bought while waiting for their food. Amélie was one of the first people Florence had met when she moved to Paris. She showed her around the city and showed her some of her favorite spots. Amélie and Florence got along well and have become pretty good friends, which makes working a lot more fun.  
The girls loved working together and talking to each other during their breaks. Both of them have come to trust each other a lot over the year and Florence opened up about a lot of things about herself. She talked to Amélie about how she left England, how she has recurring nightmares, and about Fred and George. 

“So how are you doing? We haven’t talked in a while,” said Amélie, while digging into her food. 

“I don’t know to be honest. Something happened today that caught me off guard and I don’t know what to do.” 

“So are you going to tell me what happened or am I going to have to pry it out of you like I always do?” said Amélie grinning.

“I’m getting there, patience,” said Florence while smiling. “So today while I was I was making breakfast I got a letter from someone.”

“Come on, enough with the mystery who sent you the letter?”

“It was Fred,” said Florence, shifting nervously in her seat.

“WHAT?” exclaimed Amélie in bewilderment.

“I could have done without the shouting, but yes it was from Fred.”

Florence went on to talk about everything that Fred wrote in the letter, from him mentioning how much Ginny and Molly missed her, to him joking about her frolicking around Paris with some french guy and him asking her to come to visit and saying he missed her.

“Florence Bardeau, you have this man pussy whipped,” Amélie joked while chuckling.

“Amélie! This is serious! What the fuck am I supposed to do?” she replied while slightly chuckling at Amélie’s sly remark.

“Are you really asking me when the answer is obvious?”

“If I knew the answer do you think I would ask?” Florence added, rolling her eyes.  
“Someone's sassy today I see,” jested Amélie

“Listen, You have to go visit them, Flora. And before you start with the whole ‘I don’t think I can,’ bullshit, you’re going. Everyone misses you and it wouldn’t hurt you to go back for at least a few days”

“I don’t know, I think I need to think about it a little more.” 

“That’s up to you, but I think you should go, Flora,” added Amélie while giving the check to the waiter.

The two women got up getting ready to leave and go their separate ways.

“Thank you, Amélie, for keeping me company and talking some sense into me as per usual,” said Florence while hugging her friend goodbye.

“You know I always do,” reassured Amélie. “Tell me how everything goes yeah? I’ll see you at work. Bye, mon amour”

“Bye, Élie.”

Once Florence got home, she went to her bedroom and got some parchment and a quill. She sat at the kitchen table trying to think of what to write back. She probably used up at least 10 pieces of parchment until she finally wrote something decent and to her liking.

_Freddie,_

_I’m doing as well as I can. I miss everyone so much, especially you and George. Tell Ginny that I miss her and give her a hug for me (I’ll find out if you don’t Weasley). I think it’s good that Ginny’s turning into me, at least she doesn’t have a deathwish like you and George. Molly’s probably thankful for that._

_I’m glad the shop is doing well, you and George deserve all the success that you’re getting right now._

__

_I would love to come back but I don’t know if I’m ready yet. I’ll think about it but don’t count on me immediately saying yes._

_I miss you, too, Freddie._

_Florence_

_(p.s. I don’t frolic around with French guys you git... If I remember correctly, you were the one who was drooling over the Beauxbaton girls when they came to Hogwarts.)_

“That’s as good as it’s going to get,” said Florence to herself while scanning the letter one more time and putting it in an envelope. She went into her sitting room and opened her owl’s cage and put the letter in its beak. 

“I think you know where this one is going Bella,” she said while smiling and opening the window so her owl could fly to its destination.

As she watched Bella fly further and further away, she kept thinking about Fred asking her to come back. She would love nothing more than to come back but she didn’t know if she was ready just yet. 

But receiving Freddie’s letter gave her a push to start considering coming back. She wanted to see Ginny and chat with her about Harry. Help Molly with cooking, see her parents, play Quidditch with the boys and Ginny and just be with her family and friends once again. 

With her many thoughts circling her mind if she’s ready to come back, she went to sleep, without having a nightmare and waking up in the early hours because of it, for the first time in a while.


	3. Chapter 3

A week had passed since Florence got Fred’s letter. A few days after that Saturday she went back to work where she told Amélie about writing back to him. 

“So you still didn’t agree to come back, even after our conversation?” huffed Amélie.

“Hey don’t give me that face. I just wanted to have more time to think over everything.”

“You aren’t one for spontaneity, are you, Flora,” Amélie joked.

“Élie you’re starting to sound like Fred right now.”

“And would that be a bad thing?” the French girl said, smirking.

“And this is where our conversation ends. Always a pleasure talking to you Amélie,” Florence said, getting up to leave.

“Oh come on! You know you love me,” Amélie chuckled.

“Don’t push your luck,” Florence reiterated.

After her shift, Florence and a few of her co-workers decided to go out and grab a bite to eat. She now sat at the small table with all her colleagues, listening to them talk about conversations they had with people at work and about their weekend plans. As she sat around the group chatting away, Florence started thinking about her visiting or maybe even moving back to England. 

From the lively atmosphere to the weather, she had come to love Paris so much. But even after living in France a year, she still longed for her friends and family. She missed the gloomy autumn weather and sitting around the den of the Burrow in the early hours of the morning having hushed conversations with the twins, Ginny, Hermione, Harry and Ron as they tried not to wake up Arthur and Molly the most.

After a few hours of sitting and chatting with her co-workers, they all said their goodbyes and went their separate ways. 

When Florence got home she changed into comfier clothes and went into the kitchen to make some tea. As she was filling the kettle with water she remembered that she didn’t receive a letter from her parents the day when Fred sent his letter to her. Once the tea was done, she went into her bedroom and picked up a piece of parchment and her quill. Then she made her way back to the kitchen where she sat at the table to write a letter to her parents. 

_Mum and dad,_

_I didn’t get a letter from you so I just wanted to check in and see if everything is alright?_

_I wanted to talk to both of you about something. About a week ago, Fred sent me a letter and talked about how everyone misses and asked me to come back and visit for a few days. I know both of you want me to come back, and as far as I can tell, so does everyone else. I’ve had some time to think over it and I think I would like to finally come back for good. Freds letter gave me that final push that I think I have been needing for a while._

_I would say don’t get too excited but Dad’s probably already jumping up and down right now._

_Everything needs to be sorted out with work and my apartment here, but I’ll let you both know how everything goes and when I’ll be coming back._

_Now, I don't want either of you going around and telling everyone I’m coming back just yet, because I want it to be a surprise._

_Dad, I know you won’t tell anyone, but since Mum can’t keep a secret to herself, I want you to keep an eye on her so she doesn’t tell anyone._

_Can't wait to see and hug both of you._

_Florence_

Once She gave Bella the letter, Florence went and sat down on her balcony and looked at the sunset, smiling to herself over the fact that she’s finally going to be with her loved ones again. 

* * *

_________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________The next two weeks Florence got everything organised. She had been sending letters with her parents back and forth making plans and finalising everything. Soon after she sent the initial letter, she had received one back from her parents, they were over the moon about Florence finally wanting to come back. Eason and Norvina had been separated from their daughter for a year and they couldn't wait to finally see her again._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________Florence had almost everything sorted. She went to her workplace and informed her boss that she would be leaving and going back to England. Her boss was happy for her and wished her the best of luck in the future. She had packed up her belongings in her apartment, and as she was sitting in her living room looking at her small empty flat, apart from a few boxes and furniture that was there when she started renting out her flat, it finally hit her that she would be going back home._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________Lost in her daydream, she realised that she had not had a nightmare in almost a month. She didn’t know whether it was because she was always exhausted when it was time to go to bed or the fact that she had other things to think about rather than the events of the war. But this time she didn’t think much of it as she was finally sleeping normally and didn’t want to jinx herself._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________She got up from her sofa and rummaged through one of her boxes with “clothes” written boldly in black marker looking for something to throw on to go to bed. She grabbed some black shorts and a tank top and made her way to her bedroom to change and go to sleep._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________Tomorrow would finally be the day she goes back to England and the anticipation was killing her._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________

* * *

___  
_  
_  
_

_________The next morning, Florence woke up and immediately started getting ready. Before leaving she wanted to have breakfast with Amélie to say her final goodbyes to her friend. She got up, took a shower, and brushed her teeth. After her shower, Florence went rummaging through one of her boxes of clothing once again and picked out a simple top and some red pants. Before heading out the door, she performed a drying spell on her hair._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________Amélie and Florence decided on going out for breakfast at the same cafe that they had eaten at the prior night with their co-workers since the food was, as Amélie so nicely put it, “fucking phenomenal.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________After waiting a few minutes for Amélie, she finally arrived. The two women embraced as they greeted each other. They chose to sit at a table outside and ordered their food._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________“So you’re finally leaving me aren’t you?” Amélie pouted._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________“Oh come on do be like that, I’ll start crying in the middle of a bloody cafe.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________“I’m kidding. I’m happy that you’re finally doing what I know you’ve been wanting to do for a long time.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________“You know I’m going to miss you so much,” Florence reassured._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________“Who wouldn’t miss me? I mean come on, look at me,” Amélie joked, playfully flipping her hair._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________“I swear you act like Fred more and more every time I see you and you haven’t even met the bloody man.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________“I don't need to meet him to know what he acts like, I can guess by what you have told me about him,” replied Amélie._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________“Ha-ha, you’re so funny.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________“The sarcasm was practically dripping off of that sentence.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________After a long pause, Florence broke the silence._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________“I can’t believe I’m doing this,” she admitted._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________“You think too much about the little things, Florence. I’m proud of you for finally doing the thing you’ve wanted to for so long,” Amélie started, a smirk playing on her lips. “Fred’s letter gave you that push didn’t it?”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________“Stop smirking at me every time you mention Fred, it’s quite creepy, Amélie,” Florence quipped._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________“I’ll stop doing it when you finally admit that you have feelings for him, or at the very least, want to fuck him.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________“What–” Florence exclaimed._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________“Don’t play dumb with me, Florence Bardeau! I know you like him.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________“I have no idea what you are talking about.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________“Okay, you can play that game if you want, but when you write me a letter in a few months saying that you’re dating him, I’ll be saying ‘I told you so.’”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________“Amélie, he doesn’t have feelings for me.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________“His letter says otherwise,” Amélie claimed._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________“I didn’t know you became a mind reader,” Florence said, rolling her eyes._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________“It’s a hobby I picked up a while ago,” the French woman joked._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________The women conversed and ate for the following hour and then paid for their food and left the cafe._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________“Want to make one stop before we say goodbye?” Amélie asked._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________“Where?”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________“Think of the most cliche spot in Paris.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________“Amélie, the Eiffel tower, really?” said Florence with a sarcastic smile._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________“Oh, come on it’s your last day in Paris. We have to go!”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________“Okay, fine, but only because you want to.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________Florence and Amélie set off towards the famous tourist attraction and after about twenty minutes of walking around and conversing with each other, they made it to their destination._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________“You know, as cliche as the Eiffel tower is, it is still beautiful,” Florence claimed._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________“I never get bored of seeing it, even after living here my entire life.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________“I’m going to miss Paris,” said Florence._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________“Oh, come on, Florrie. It’s not like you’re barred from ever coming to Paris again after you move.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________“I know, I know. But it’s not like I'll be able to just casually come and look at the Eiffel tower whenever I please.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________“It’s never going to just get up and leave, you can come to visit whenever you want,” Amélie joked._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________“I’ll miss you and your witty remarks when I leave,” Florence said, chuckling_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________Florence looked at the watch in her hand and realized that it was time to leave. Amélie looked at her with a knowing glance and smiled._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________“I don’t want to go.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________“Yes, you do,” Amélie reassured._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________The two women embraced one last time._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________“You can always write and visit. I’ll miss you, mon amour,” the French woman said, hugging her and kissing her cheek._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________“Of course, I’ll miss you more. Bye, Élie.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________After their emotional goodbyes, Florence and Amélie went their separate ways._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________

* * *

___  
_  
_  
_

_________After Florence got back to her flat, she set down her things and started packing up the very last of her belongings. Once she was sure she had everything and hadn’t forgotten anything, she took a step into her fireplace and took one last glance over her flat that had been lived in for a year. Living in Paris was a chapter in her life that she will never forget and cherish in her heart. But now she was starting a new chapter of her life coming back to England_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________She took a handful of Floo powder, muttered her parents’ home address, and with a burst of green light she was gone._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________Once she got her bearings and brushed off the remnants of Floo powder off of her clothing, she took a step into her childhood home filled with the familiar scent of her mother’s perfume and hints of smoke. She hadn’t even properly put her things down when she was caught in a bone-crushing hug from her mother._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________“My baby is finally home!” her mother whooped._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________“Mum, Mum! You’re going to kill me if you keep squeezing me like that,” Florence said, struggling to breathe._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________“Oh, I’m sorry darling, I just can’t believe I’m seeing you again,” her mother explained with tears in her eyes threatening to escape at any moment. “Let me take a look at you.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________Florence stood in her kitchen awkwardly while her mother was gushing over how beautiful she had gotten._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________“Okay, that’s enough of that Mum,” Florence began. “Where’s Dad? I would have expected to be toppled over with a hug by now.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________“He’s still at work, but he will be home in an hour or so. You can go and get yourself settled and unpack, while I get the last bits of dinner ready.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________“Okay, I won’t be long,” Florence agreed._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________“Alright then. It is so good to have you back dear,” Norvina exclaimed, giving her daughter another hug._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________“It’s good to be back,” Florence added, smiling at her mum._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________Florence made her way out of the sitting room and started ascending the staircase of her home. She turned the familiar corner of the hallway and stood in front of her old bedroom door. She didn’t know why, but she stood there not being able to open the door for a good five minutes. She wondered if it was because of her anxiety or the fact that her room was filled with memories before the war when she was in a happier state and didn’t have a care in the world.  
She finally mustered up the courage and opened her bedroom door to reveal her room just how she had left it a year ago._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________Florence’s room wasn’t too big but it was her safe space that she made her own where she could be happy. On the right of her room was her bed in front of a window that looked out into the big field behind her home. Her bedroom was full of plants sprawled around her room, and her walls were covered with pictures of her with and the twins, her parents, her at Hogwarts, and a photo of her in the summer, tanning at the Burrow with Ginny and Hermione, that Mrs. Weasley took while they were watching the boys play quidditch._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________Looking around, she felt certain energy that she hadn’t felt in a while. She felt the energy of happiness all around her room, hope and innocence. Florence stood there positioned in the middle of her bedroom for a good fifteen minutes filled with memories she had forgotten about when she was snapped out of her daydream by a gentle knock on her door. She glanced over and saw her mother standing in the doorframe._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________“I didn’t want to change anything in your room and decided it was best if I left it how it was,” her mother said gently._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________“It feels so weird being back here. It seems like everything has changed but the one thing that has stayed the same is my room,” she explained. “How did you keep the plants alive? You know I was never the best at taking care of them even though there’s so many in here.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________“I found a spell in a book about the care of plants a while back,” Norvina spoke._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________After a few moments of comfortable silence, she continued, “I’ll go and give you some alone time, your father should be coming home soon, so I’ll call you down.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________“Okay, thanks, Mum.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________Florence spent the next hour unpacking everything and putting them in their rightful spots. After she was done she fell onto her bed and stared absentmindedly at her ceiling before she heard her mother’s voice call for her to come downstairs. As she made her way out of her bedroom and into the kitchen, she saw her father and immediately brought him into a hug. After a few moments, they broke apart._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________“It’s so good to finally see you again, darling!”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________“It’s so good to see you too, Dad,” Florence replied._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________“I’m going to get changed and then we can all sit down and you can tell us about how everything has been going alright?”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________“Of course,” she responded._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________The next few hours the Bardeau family caught up with everything Florence had been doing and in return, her parents talked about what they had been doing the prior weeks to Florence coming back. They laughed and joked, just enjoying being in each other’s company again after a long time. She was finally reunited with her parents again and she couldn’t be any happier hearing her father rant about his day at work and her mother making fun of him for it. She sat at the dinner table smiling and silently observing her parents playfully bicker. Everything was so normal, it was almost as if she had never left._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________Being back was like a breath of fresh air that she had been longing for, for so long._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________“So, darling, when are you planning on visiting everyone? The Weasleys miss you so much, they would be ecstatic to see you again,” Norvina stated, picking at the last pieces of food on her plate._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________“I would love to visit them any day when everybody is free.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________“We could go Friday evening, they have invited us for dinner after Arthur and I finish up work, so we could go then,” Eason added._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________“That’s perfect, I can't wait to see them all.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________“And what about Fred and George?” Norvina said with a knowing look_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________“What about them?” Florence uttered in confusion not knowing what her mother was implying_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________“Well, I’m guessing you would like to see them earlier than Friday. It’s only Wednesday.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________“I would love nothing more than to see them, but I’m just nervous is all I guess.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________“Why?” Eason interjected_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________“I don’t know,” Florence huffed in frustration. “I just think they’re mad at me or don’t want to see me.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________“Darling, Fred wouldn’t have sent you that letter if he and George were still mad at you.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________“They talk about you all the time and were never even mad at you, to begin with,” her father reassured. “Everything will be fine, Florence, they’re going to be over the moon to see you”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________“Are they working tomorrow?” she said after a pause._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________“The one thing those boys do all the time besides pranking everyone is work. They never let themselves take a break,” Norvina joked. “I’m sure they will be working tomorrow”._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________“Fine, then i'll go tomorrow,” Florence stated nervously, picking at her nail bed._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________“Darling, everything is going to be great, stop worrying yourself and preparing for the worst.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________“I know, I know, thanks, Mum.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________After catching up with each other, Florence helped her mother clean up, said goodnight to her parents, and made her way back to her bedroom. As she entered her room she went to her wardrobe and grabbed some clothing to sleep in._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________After getting changed she got into her bed and after a few moments, fell asleep with the sound of a subtle breeze coming through her open window._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________

* * *

____  
_  
_  


_________The following morning Florence awoke to the smell of her mother’s cooking. She threw on some sweatpants and a white t-shirt and followed the delicious scent to the kitchen._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________“Morning, Mum,” said Florence, rubbing her eyes._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________“Good morning, hun,” her mother beamed._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________“It smells amazing in here, what are you making?”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________“Pancakes, your favorite.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________After breakfast, Florence and her mother talked about her plans for today and going to visit the twins. Norvina worked as a healer in St. Mungos so she had her breakfast with Florence and then quickly went to get ready._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________“I don’t know if I’ll be coming home today, but I’ll let you know if anything changes,” Florence said before her mum left._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________“Darling, you’re not a teenager anymore, you don’t have to tell if you’re staying somewhere, or not,” Norivna teased._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________“Okay then, have a good day Mum.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________“You too, good luck today, Florence.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________Before Florence could say another word, her mother Disapparated and she was left alone in the house. After cleaning up, she went to her bedroom to grab some clothing and take a shower. When she was done with her shower, she performed a drying spell on her hair and threw on a lilac skirt and a white cropped top. She put on some light makeup and was finally ready to leave for Diagon Alley._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________Florence took one last look at herself in the mirror while straightening out her skirt and then Disapparated._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________Once she adjusted to the new atmosphere she found herself in, she took a look at the most brightly colored shop in Diagon Alley. She hadn’t even been inside yet and was already in awe of everything the boys had accomplished. When she was finally ready, she made her way over to the door with a big “open” sign stuck to the window. The shop was filled with people looking at different items, kids running around, little fireworks whirring past her. She had never expected to see so many people inside the shop. While looking around in absolute bewilderment she spotted a flash of red hair._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________Upstairs, Fred was talking to a customer energetically about some kind of gadget in his hands. He was dressed up in an orange dress shirt with the first two buttons undone and some formal black pants. She had never seen him look so professional before and was quite enjoying the view of Fred being so focused on what he was doing. She couldn’t spot George anywhere so she decided to go and sneak up behind Fred._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________While climbing up the stairs she placed herself behind Fred and leaned against the railing. When Fred was done talking to the customer, and still not noticing that Florence was right behind him, Fred stood there for a bit sorting out the shelf in front of him and organizing the products as neatly as possible._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________“Seems like all those years of Burrow cleaning duties are finally paying off,” she started. “Never thought I’d see the day that Fred Weasley looked like a real adult.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _


	4. Chapter 4

“Seems like all those years of Burrow cleaning duties are finally paying off,” she started. “Never thought I’d see the day that Fred Weasley looked like a real adult.”

Hearing Florence’s voice made Fred stop dead in his tracks. At that moment he thought he was going crazy because he could not believe the fact that Florence could be behind him.

“Helloooo, Freddie am I seriously going to have to turn you around so I can get a bloody hug or what?” Florence joked.

After Florence’s comment, Fred started turning very slowly towards her, almost as if he were scared. Once he had finally turned around, he realised that he wasn’t going crazy and that Florence was standing right in front of him.

“What. The. Fuck,” Fred blurted.

“Wow, how nice to see you too, Freddie,” she declared while rolling her eyes.

“Am I going crazy?” Fred put out his hands in front of Florence and started touching her face as if to see if she was real and not a figment of his imagination.

“FRED!” Florence yelled. “Keep touching my face and I’ll throw you over this railing.”

“It’s actually you,” Fred uttered in bewilderment.

Before Florence could say another witty or sarcastic remark, she found herself engulfed in a suffocating, but affectionate hug by Fred, almost lifting her from the ground.

“Fred, I can’t breathe,” Florence choked while trying to catch a breath.

After Florence’s pleading to be put down so she could breathe again, Fred let her go.

“What are you doing here? I didn’t think you would come back.”

“Well, I had time to think it over, and planned everything out with my parents when I was still in France.”

“So, are you here just to visit?” Fred asked.

“Well, actually I decided that I’m staying here for good,” Florence announced.

“Holy shit, I wasn’t expecting that” Fred admitted.

“I’m a woman of many surprises, Freddie,” she jested, while Fred rolled his eyes.

“So, where’s George? I looked for him but only saw you, unfortunately.”

“Ouch, that one hurt, Florrie,” he teased while holding his hand to his heart. “He’s in the office right now sorting through some documents last time I checked.”

“Well, are you going to show me where he is or am I going to have to find the office myself?

“You’ve been back fifteen minutes and are already bossing me around,” he quipped while chuckling slightly.

“You know you like it,” Florence nagged.

“Okay fine, but before we go, want to prank him?” Fred asked with a mischievous smirk playing at his lips.

“I thought you would never ask, Weasley.”

Fred and Florence set off to find something that they could prank George with. While searching around and getting a tour of the shop, she felt the thrill of pranking that she had forgotten. She loved the little butterflies you would get in your stomach from the anxiety of if a prank you’re planning out would succeed or not, and more importantly, she loved that she was finally doing it again with someone she had done it with for so many years.

While Florence was in her own world walking around and looking at the shop's walls completely covered in all kinds of toys, sweets, gag gifts and so much more, Fred called her over to where he was standing. When she walked over, she saw a pack of little circular-shaped firecrackers that looked even smaller in Fred’s big hands.

“Ah, yes, firecrackers, my speciality,” Florence said looking at Fred with a mischievous smirk.

“We made those with you in mind y’know.”

“You’re kidding.”

“I’m being deadly serious. George and I were thinking of a way that you could sneakily plant firecrackers and remembered when you said that we should make ones in the shape of a ball so that you could place them somewhere easier.”

“You two always steal my ideas. I should be getting some sort of commission for this you know,” Florence joked while taking the packet out of Fred’s hands to inspect further.

“I think these will do great.”

“Well then let me show you the way to the office where our innocent Georgie is, Miss Bardeau,” Fred said while playfully bowing and motioning his hand to the staircase.

After a short while, Fred and Florence were finally near a door that was closed, not so far away from the cash register. Fred cast a silencing spell on the door to make sure George couldn’t hear it opening. While Fred cast the spell, Florence was opening the packet of firecrackers and taking a few out. 

When Fred cracked the door slightly, she saw George, probably the most concentrated she has ever seen him, sitting at a desk, filling out some sort of paperwork. Florence then rolled the firecrackers one by one near the desk and once all of them were in place she turned to Fred.  
“On the count of three?” Florence whispered.

“One.”

“Two.”

“THREE!”

Once they had counted to three, the room was soon lit up with firecrackers lighting up at George’s feet. George immediately arose from where he was sitting trying to back away from the firecrackers lit up right next to him.

“WHAT THE FU–FRED!” George shouted, was caught off guard.

Fred and Florence, on the other side of the door, were in fits of laughter from George’s reaction. After catching his breath, Fred opened the door fully.

“It wasn’t just me, mate, don’t put all the blame on me!” Fred teased. “I had some help.”

“Well, I know it’s not the staff helping because they actually do their job unlike you, so who is it?”

Once George had said that he saw Florence emerge from the side of the door with a big grin on her face, her hands cupping her stomach, that was cramping from laughing.

“Hey, Georgie,” Florence beamed.

“Holy shit! My Florrie’s back!”

Florence and George made their way to each other and embraced tightly. Once again, she found herself almost lifted from the ground and struggling to breathe.

“Oi, George, maybe _don’t_ kill her the first few minutes of seeing her?” Fred said after he saw Florence slightly gasping for air.

“Shit–Sorry Florrie.”

“I-its o-okay,” Florence reassured while she not-so-subtly stood trying to steady her breathing again. “What happened to all of you while I was gone? Did Molly teach you her “momma bear-mode” hugs? Because so far I’ve gotten hugged four times since I’ve come back and have struggled to breathe every time.”

“I think it’s the fact that everyone missed you, smart-arse,” George quipped.

“I get that, but you don’t see me hugging the both of you ‘till you’re struggling to breathe.”

“Florrie I don’t think you would be capable of giving us hugs to the point where we would be struggling to breathe,” Fred joked.

“Yeah, yeah I get it, you two are giants, you don’t have to remind me every five seconds, Freddie.”

“So, have you come back for good? Or are you going to flee to France again after a few days?” George teased.

“Yes, George, I will be fleeing after a few days back to France and go frolic around Paris with a French guy who can barely speak English,” Florence ribbed while turning towards Fred with a knowing look.

“Hey! I thought that was funny y’know,” Fred shot back.

“Oh, yes, bloody hilarious Freddie,” she said while rolling her eyes. “Fuck working at the joke shop, you should become a comedian.”

“I know you’re taking the piss out of me but watch me be the best comedian there is.”

“Okay, anyway,” Florence said while directing her attention to George. “In all seriousness, I am back and for good.”

“That’s what I like to hear,” George beamed. “Do you have any plans for today?”

“No, actually, I just wanted to come to see the both of you, but besides that, I don't have any other plans.”

“Well, we have a few hours of work left until we close up, but then after we could go get some dinner?”

“Sure, I’d love to.”

“Well since you’re staying here for the day, you want to help us out a bit?” Fred said with a smirk.

“Wow, already putting me to work?” Florence teased.

“Oh, come on, I know you want to.”

“Alright fine, what do you want me to do?”

“We need to restock some shelves on the third floor, so could you help out?” George chimed in.

“Sure, let’s get a move on then, boys, we can’t stand here and chat all day we got work to do!” Florence said while clapping her hands.

“She’s already better than you Freddie,” George teased.

“Oh, shut up, c’mon let’s go,” Fred said while leaving the office.

The rest of the workday, the boys and Florence did some jobs around the shop. She restocked some products on shelves, helped with customers, and checked some people out at the cash register. She didn’t think she would have so much fun working, but she did. Working alongside Fred and George was an interesting experience.  
She had never seen them so focused on well, anything like this before. She loved seeing the boys engage in conversation with customers and seeing their confidence radiate in everything they were doing. She couldn’t be prouder that they had achieved something that they had wanted to do since third year when they sprung the idea on her during breakfast in the Great Hall.

After several hours of work, the boys and Florence said their goodbyes to the staff and finally closed the shop.

“I am so fucking hungry,” George began after he finished putting a box of Puking Pastilles away into the storage room.

“We should go get changed and then we can head out to the Leaky Cauldron to get some food,” Fred offered.

“Yeah, okay, let’s go up to the flat then.”

The boys then led the way to the very top floor of the shop where their flat was. As they opened the door, she looked around at the sitting area with big red sofas next to a fireplace, and to the right, she saw a kitchen area with a circular table tucked in the corner and a bayside window that looked out into Diagon Alley.

“You know, I expected it to be much messier in here,” Florence stated after looking around.

“That’s all thanks to me, Fred never cleans around the flat,” George mumbled.

“I swear he becomes Mum if he finds a fucking speck of dust on the table,” Fred joked.

“At least I’m being clean, you tosser.”

“Okay I’m not having this bullying from you, I’m going to get changed.”

“Yeah, me too, Florrie you can make yourself comfortable while we get ready.”

“Alright then.”

While Fred and George went into their rooms, Florence walked over to the big red sofa in the sitting room and flopped down on it. She laid there for what seemed like forever when both Fred and George finally walked out of their rooms.

“Merlin, you two take longer than I do to get ready,” Florence said while getting up.

“Beauty takes time Florence,” Fred jested while trying to flip his hair.

“Yeah, yeah, princess, let’s keep it moving I’m starving,” Florence replied.

Once George had locked up the shop the three set off towards the Leaky Cauldron. The sun had just begun to set, while the three were taking their time strolling and talking. Florence had missed the casual evenings where she could just walk around with Fred and George and talk about nothing in particular and just be in each other’s presence.  
She finally felt happy again, being back with her two closest friends.

Once they made their way into the Leaky Cauldron, Florence, Fred, and George picked out what they all wanted to eat and while waiting on their order, they chatted about some new product ideas the boys have been thinking of. Once they had their food, the three made their way back to the flat.  
They all got seated on the sofa with an array of food set on the table. George put on the television and turned on a muggle channel. They all sat and enjoyed their food while Fred and Florence commentated on the TV show they were watching, with George just digging into his food and laughing at his two best friends bicker over which character was the best.

After a few hours of lounging around and talking, they hadn’t even noticed how fast the time had flown by. At around 1:00 am George got up from his seat.

“Alright, I’m going to bed, I’m absolutely knackered, plus we have work at nine Fred.”

“Okay, grandpa, goodnight,” Fred said while snickering.

“Oh, piss off you git,” George resounded while rolling his eyes.

“That is no way to talk to your dear brother, Georgie.”

“Goodnight, Florrie,” George continued, ignoring his brother.

“Night, Georgie.”

With the close of George’s door, Fred turned to Florence.

“Why are you staring at me like that you weirdo,” Florence quizzed.

“First of all, you and George need to stop bullying me, second of all I want you to tell me about what it was like in France.”

“Well, what do you want to know? It wasn’t as interesting as you probably think it was,” Florence started.

“Anything. Where did you work, did you make any friends?” Fred asked.

“I worked in a muggle bar that was about ten minutes from where I lived. I made a few friends, but I was closest to one of the girls I worked with. Her name is Amélie.”

“And do you miss her?” Fred inquired.

“So much, she was always there for me. I opened up to her about a lot of things and she was the only person that understood me, listened to me and was actually one of the people who convinced me to move back. And not to mention she is fucking gorgeous, all the guys drool over her,” she went on while smiling to herself.

“Oh, I’m sure the French boys loved you too,” Fred ribbed.

“Fredrick Gideon Weasley, what is with you and French men?” Florence teased.

“First off, never use my full name again, you sound like Mum, and it’s not French men, it’s just _men_ in general, you always had a questionable taste,” Fred ridiculed.

“There is no way you are making fun of my taste in men when your taste in women is quite ambiguous, Fred.”

“Do you want me to start listing all your conquests from when we were in Hogwarts?” Fred sassed.

“Let’s not–”

“Well, let’s see,” Fred began ignoring Florence. “There was, Miles Bletchley, Dean Thomas, that one Ravengit whatever his name was, Cedric Diggory, oh, and we can’t forget Blaise Zabini,” Fred finished looking at a very annoyed Florence giving him the death stare.

Florence stood up from where she was and went over to the bayside window and gathered all the pillows that she could fit in her hands and started throwing them at Fred.

“Hey!” Fred whined. “I surrender! I’m sorry!”

“You should be, you prat,” Florence said while sitting back down.

“Since you decided to expose all the guys I’ve slept with, it’s your turn.”

“No Florrie I don’t think that–”

“Shut up,” Florence insisted. “Let’s see, there was Angelina, Katie Bell, Susan Bones, Daisy Corran, and a girl from Slytherin whose name you never told me.”

“How did that feel,” Florence teased.

“Okay, okay, you don’t need to guilt-trip me. I’m sorry for saying you have a bad taste in men,” Fred admitted while rolling his eyes.

“That’s what I like to hear,” Florence joked.

The two sat in the sitting room for several more hours, chatting, making fun of each other, and talking about their time at Hogwarts. It was around 4:00 am when the two accidentally fell asleep on the sofa together after talking for several hours.

* * *

The following morning, Florence was woken up by the sound of a shower being turned on. She still felt a little disoriented and groggy, so when she got acclimated to the morning sun beaming through the window, she realised that she was not where she was last. She found herself lying in bed in an unfamiliar room. 

The room was painted red with the bed being in the middle of the room with two windows and two nightstands on either side of the bed. There were posters of Quidditch teams on the wall in front of Florence and to her left was a wardrobe and a door next to it that probably led into a bathroom.

_She realised that she was in Fred’s bed._

“What the fuck,” Florence whispered, confused.

Just as she was whispering to herself, she heard the shower turn off. A few moments later Fred stepped out of the bathroom with his hair still sopping wet, his toned body showing, with little freckles splattered all over his abs and arms, and a white towel draped around his waist loosely.

Fred hadn’t even noticed that Florence was gawking at him until he turned around after picking out a purple buttoned-down shirt and some black dress pants from his wardrobe.

“Oh hey, sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you,” Fred began but stopped when he noticed Florence staring at his body.

“Earth to Florence, stop staring at me like I’m a piece of dessert,” Fred teased.

“Shit, uh, sorry,” she said slightly embarrassed.

After a short pause, she asked a question that she had been thinking about since she realised she was in Fred’s bedroom.

“How did I get in your bed?” Florence asked.

“We both passed out on the sofa yesterday, and I woke up somewhere around 5:00 am and carried you to my bedroom so you could sleep a little more comfortably.”

“Did–”

“If you’re going to ask if I slept here too, don’t worry, I didn’t. I carried you in here and then went and slept in our spare bedroom.”

“Why didn’t you just leave me in the sitting room? Or carry me to the spare bedroom instead of yours?” Florence questioned.

“Florrie, I was half asleep I don’t even know myself,” Fred answered while smirking. “Anyway, if you want to take a shower you can go in mine and there should be a spare toothbrush in the cupboard above the sink.”

“Alright, thanks.”

“No problem,” Fred said while making his way out of the bedroom.

Once Fred closed the bedroom door, Florence got out of bed and went to the bathroom. She decided on having a shower once she got home, so she just brushed her teeth and sorted out her hair. Once Florence freshened up, she made her way out of Fred’s room and into the kitchen. There George was making breakfast as best he could, while  
Fred was sat at the table drinking a cup of coffee.

“Mo-rning,” George said turning his attention to Florence.

“What’s burning in here?” Florence joked.

“Hey! I’m trying to make breakfast,” George spoke.

Florence walked over to where George was trying to scramble some eggs. Emphasis on _trying._

“Um, Georgie, how about I make breakfast instead, yeah?”

“Thank fuck, I thought you’d never ask,” George sighed with relief.

“You would think with your mum being an amazing cook, that you two would at least know how to make scrambled eggs properly, but I guess not,” Florence teased. “Go sit down George, I'll make breakfast.” 

After a few minutes, Florence, Fred, and George were sat around the table eating some scrambled eggs and toast. The boys didn’t have much to work with so this was the best Florence could come up with. The three were sat, enjoying their breakfast when George broke the silence.

“So, Florrie, do you have any plans as to what you’re going to be doing with work? Or where you’re going to live?”

“I have been thinking about it for a while, but I don’t know what I’m going to do just yet. I’m staying with my parents right now, but I don’t want to permanently live there.”

“Well, in that case,” George added while turning towards Fred who was too distracted eating his toast. “You thinking what I’m thinking Freddie?”

“Oh, of course, Georgie,” Fred chimed in looking at his brother and then at a very confused Florence.

“So, are you twats going to tell me, or am I just going to be left in confusion?” Florence interjected, putting her coffee down.

“Since you don’t have a job currently and you’re looking for a place to stay,” Fred started ignoring Florence’s last sentence.

“Would you like to work here and live with us? We have a spare bedroom that we don’t use, so that could be your room, only if you want of course,” George finished.

“It was your dream as much as ours to open up the shop, and we did talk about living together before the war started,” Fred chimed in.

“I have a feeling you two have thought of this more than once, by the way you two are looking at me right now,” Florence teased.

“Well, we knew you would come back eventually so we had to have some sort of plan for when you came back,” Fred answered.

“How did you know I would come back? I could have stayed in France for the rest of my life for all you know,” she questioned.

“Oh, come on, Florrie, we know you can’t stay away from us for too long,” George bragged.

“I swear the two of you are fucking obsessed with yourselves,” Florence stated while rolling her eyes.

“As is everyone else,” they both said at the same time.

“Then what am I? Because I'm not the one obsessed with you two gits.”

“You may not be obsessed with me Florrie, but you are obsessed with someone else,” George stated looking very chuffed with himself.

“George, what are you on about,” Florence questioned.

“Yeah, I’d also like to know. my dear brother,” Fred chimed in.

“So, do you agree or not?” George said, trying to change the subject.

“Nice way of changing the subject, mate,” Fred mocked.

“I am not complaining that he did,” Florence added. “I’m going to accept your offer; I think working in the shop is going to be fun and I can’t wait to start.”

“And what about living with us?” Fred questioned.

“As long as you two don’t mess with my room when I move in then I’ll be good.”

“No promises,” George joked.

Fred turned to his brother with an annoyed look on his face and punched him in the shoulder.

“Ow, you git! I was only joking,” George grumbled while stroking his shoulder.

“Okay, so then it’s settled,” Fred said while shooting a warning look to his brother.

“I just need to go get my things from my parent’s house and tell Mum everything,” Florence continued.

“Before you leave let us show you the room,” George spoke.

The boys then proceeded to lead Florence out of the kitchen and to the very end of the hallway, stopped in front of a door, and then let Florence walk in first.

“This is going to be your room,” George started.

The room was much bigger than she had expected it to be. In the middle of the room was a queen-sized bed, to the left of the room was a little window that looked out into Diagon Alley. The room also had a wardrobe placed opposite the bed, and a bathroom at the right to the entrance of the room.

“We know it’s not much, but you can decorate it and make it your own,” Fred began after a pause.

“It’s perfect, thank you boys,” Florence said sincerely.

“Okay we have to go open up shop but while we’re working you can move your stuff in. You can use our fireplace to get to and from your parent’s house and get your things.”

“Alright thank you again, I’ll see you both later then. I’m assuming both of you are going to the Burrow in the evening?”

“Yeah, we told Mum we’ll be there when we finish up with work,” George revealed.

“Okay then, have a good day at work, boys.”

“Thank you, Florrie,” the twins said at the same time and left heading downstairs to the shop.

Once Fred and George left, Florence made her way to the fireplace and grabbed a handful of Floo powder in her hand and said her parent’s address and, with a flash of green light, was back at her parent’s home. Once she stepped out of the fireplace she called for her mum.

“Mum! I’m home.”

“I’m in the kitchen dear!” Norvina shouted from the other room.

Florence made her way into the kitchen where her mum was making herself something to eat.

“So,” Florence’s mum began, putting her sandwich on the kitchen table. “How did it go?”

“I have a lot to tell you,” Florence admitted.

The following hour Florence caught her mum up with how everything went with the twins and what they got up to. She told her mum how the boys offered her to live with them and to work at the shop, and that she agreed.

“Oh, that’s lovely dear! You three have always wanted to live together so I see no problem with it. I can’t wait to tell your father the news.”

“I just need to get my stuff to their flat and freshen up a bit.”

“Do you need any help?” her mother offered.

“No, that’s alright Mum.”

“I’m so proud of you, Florence. I’m proud of you for finally overcoming the anxieties that you had after the war and that you are happy dear,”

“Thank you, Mum. It means a lot coming from you. I love you so much.”

“Oh, I love you, too, darling,” Norvina said standing up to hug her daughter.

The two women stood in the kitchen hugging for a few moments, Norvina let go shortly after.

“Alright, go get your stuff dear. Will we be seeing you with the boys at the Burrow this evening?”

“Yes, of course. We will be coming when I finish unpacking and the twins finish up with work.”

“Alright then, dear, I won’t hold you any longer, you can go and get your things.”

Florence spent the rest of the day going back and forth between her parents and the twins flat getting her things and unpacking. Florence hung up all her clothing in the wardrobe, put all her toiletries in the bathroom, hung up pictures on the walls that were in her old bedroom at her parent’s home, and put some plants around her new bedroom. Just as she was done making her bed, she heard the front door open and Fred and George walk in.

“Oh, Florie-e,” George called out.

“I’m in here,” Florence replied from her bedroom.

Soon after the boys were standing in the doorframe looking around at the decorations in her room.

“We should have had you design our flat when we moved in, it looks great in here,” George complimented.

“Thank you, Georgie.”

“It does look nice in here, y’know,” Fred chimed in while walking towards Florence’s bed and flopping right on her freshly made bed.

“Oh, you absolute git, I just made the bed!”

“You’ll be fine,” Fred teased, putting his hands behind his head.

Florence turned to George and gave him a knowing look. George didn’t even have to say anything back to her as the two made their way over to Fred and pushed him off the bed, resulting in Fred hitting his head on the floor.

“Twats,” Fred said, getting up and rubbing the spot where he hit his head.

“You deserved that,” George interjected.

“Fred and I need to get changed and then we can head out to the Burrow,” George spoke.

“Yeah, I need to get changed into something else too, and then we can go.”

“Alright, we'll leave you to it then,” Fred said leaving the room with George right behind him.

Once the boys left, Florence made her way over to her wardrobe to pick out what to wear. She decided on a short red sundress that reached her mid-thighs and showed a little bit of cleavage. Once she threw on the dress she put on some gold earrings and a dainty necklace. Just as she finished putting on her necklace, she heard Fred call out  
from the sitting room.

“Florence, come on we don’t have all day!”

“Yeah, get a move on!” George added.

“Alright, alright I’m coming, Merlin.”

Once Florence entered the sitting room the boys turned to look at her. George got up from where he was sitting but Fred sat still looking at Florence up and down.

“Earth to Freddie, stop staring at me like I’m a piece of dessert,” she stood with a smirk playing at her lips, mocking Fred from this morning.

“Someone’s mesmerised,” George teased.

“Shut up git, you look good, Florrie,” he expressed.

“Thank you, Freddie,” Florence beamed.

“Okay, are you two done? Let’s go,” George interjected.

“Yeah, we should go before Mum comes here herself,” Fred joked.

George made his way over to the fireplace and called out the Burrow and was gone in a matter of seconds.

“You ready?” Fred asked.

“Yeah.”

“Alright then get a move on, Bardeau.”

Florence stepped into the fireplace and grabbed some Floo powder and called out the Burrow and within a matter of seconds, she was gone too.


	5. Chapter 5

The moment Florence stepped out of the Burrow’s fireplace, she didn’t even have time to look around when she felt Fred coming in from behind her almost toppling her over onto the ground.

“Fred! More caution next time,” she huffed. 

“It’s not my fault you were standing in front of the fireplace,” Fred protested. “Come on, let’s go we can’t stand here all day.”

The two made their way into the kitchen where Norvina and Molly were stood. Fred greeted the two women and then made his way outside where everyone else was. Mrs. Weasley still hadn’t noticed Florence was standing there looking at Molly and Norvina while they were chatting away and making the food.

“Would you like some help with the food ladies?” Florence said interrupting the conversation the two women were having.

“No dear that’s alri–” Molly began, stopping mid-sentence when she recognised Florence’s voice. “Florence! What are you doing here, darling, oh my goodness!”

Florence didn’t have time to answer when she was found, once again, in a heartfelt bear-like hug by Mrs. Weasley.

“What is with everyone having super strength? I almost get crushed to death every time I hug someone.”

“I’m sorry, dear, we’ve all missed you, so it could be that,” Molly answered.

Florence made her way over to her mum and greeted her and chatted with Molly and Norvina for a little bit, Molly asking about France and her coming back.

“It’s great to have you back dear. Now I won’t keep you any longer, I know you want to go and say your hellos to everyone else. Your mum and I will be out shortly with the food.”

“Alright thank you, Molly.”

Florence made her way over to the entrance and leaned against the door frame looking over at everyone. Outside, Ginny and Hermione were busy setting the table, Arthur, Remus, Eason, and Sirius were out not too far from where the girls were setting the table in what looked like a very captivating conversation. As for the boys, Ron, Harry, George, and Fred stood near the entrance of the Burrow and were conversing about Quidditch. Everyone was too distracted in what they were doing to notice Florence leaning against the doorframe looking at everyone.

Ginny was the first to notice Florence, immediately sprinting towards her and almost crashing into her with a hug. 

“Oh my God, oh my God!” Ginny kept repeating while in the hug between her and Florence.

Florence was the first to break the hug taking Ginny’s hands in hers and grinning at her.

“Please tell me your back for good, because otherwise, I’m not letting you leave,” Ginny began after a pause.

“I’m not leaving, I promise,” Florence exclaimed.

“I missed you so fucking much, you have no idea.”

“So I’ve been told,” Florence teased, averting her gaze towards Fred.

“He said something in that bloody letter didn’t he,” Ginny mumbled.

“He may have mentioned some things.”

“That git, he’ll pay for that.”

“I won’t stop you, that’s for sure.”

“Okay, c'mon you have to say hi to everyone,” Ginny insisted, pulling Florence toward the table.

Once the two were near the table the group noticed Florence.

“Florence!” Sirius and Remus the two said at the same time.

“Sirius, Remus!” She beamed, hugging the two.

Once Florence broke away from the hug Sirius ruffled her hair, resulting in Florence giving him the death stare.

“You always do that don’t you Sirius?” Florence groaned while trying to fix her hair.

“It’s become a tradition, Flora, you know I had to,” Sirius joked.

“Out of all traditions you could have, you choose this one.”

“It’s the one that annoys you the most, so yes.”

“And he’s supposed to be the adult here,” Hermione interjected, walking towards Florence.

“Hey!” Sirius barked.

Hermione ignored Sirius and made her way over to Florence to greet her. After saying their hellos the three girls stood joking around with Sirius and Remus for a couple of minutes.

“The boys still haven’t noticed that you’re here,” Ginny joshed.

“I’m not surprised they’re incognizant, especially Ron,” Hermione added while chuckling.

“Oi, you four! Get over here, there’s someone here to see you,” Ginny shouted toward the boys grabbing their attention.

The four made their way over to the table and as they got closer, Harry and Ron noticed Florence standing in between Ginny and Hermione. Harry and Florence greeted each other and embraced in a quick and welcoming hug. Ron made his way over and hugged Florence. 

“Won Won, have you gotten taller? I swear I was taller than you when I left,” Florence said teasing Ron.

“Can we please let the  _ ‘Won Won’  _ nickname die?” Ron grumbled.

“Never,” Florence, Fred, and George said in unison.

“Oh, right, bloody fantastic then,” Ron uttered while walking away.

“Do you need help setting the table?” Florence offered.

“Sure, here you can take the plates and put them on the table,” Hermione responded giving her the plates.

Just as the girls were finished setting the table, Molly and Norvina made their way over with plates piled with all sorts of food. Everyone began sitting in their seats, Florence sitting in between George and Fred. Everyone started digging into their food while conversing about random topics. Florence was asked questions about her endeavours in France.In return she asked Remus about his name being cleared by the Ministry and what everyone has been doing while she was gone.And the twins announced that Florence moved in with them and will be working with them as well.

“At least the boys won’t be starving to death, have you seen what they have in the fridge?” Molly said while laughing.

“Yes, I got the pleasure of seeing it today and was concerned. I also had to make breakfast because George was going to burn the kitchen down if I didn’t step in.”

“Well, now I know the boys won’t burn down the kitchen now that you have moved in, dear.”

“They won’t be burning down anything on my watch,” Florence promised while giving a warning glance at the boys sitting to the right and the left of her.

“Oh, come on, what’s life without a little bit of arson,” Fred teased. 

“FRED!” all the girls at the table said in unison.

“Merlin I was just joking…  _ maybe _ .”

Florence turned to Fred and gave him a light smack on the arm.

“Florrie, I think you have a problem with abusing people.”

“You’re so dramatic, you can’t just throw the word abuse around every time I barely touch you,” Florence replied while rolling her eyes and digging back into her food. 

“ _ ‘You can’t just throw the word abuse around every time I barely touch you,’ _ ” Fred mocked mimicking Florence’s last sentence. “Tell that to the bump on my head from where I hit the ground when you and George pushed me.”

“You deserved that,” George chimed in.

“I hate you two.”

“No, you don’t.”

During their conversations, Florence found out that Harry and Ginny had decided to move in together and the same with Hermione and Ron. It was about time the two couples made a bigger step into their relationships Florence thought to herself. She couldn’t be happier seeing her friends in happy relationships.

After everyone was finished with their dinner, the girls helped Mrs. Weasley and Norvina clean up. Once they were done, the adults went into the den while the rest of the group were sat outside sitting and laying on the grass in casual conversation when Fred came up with an idea.

“Right, I’m a bit bored, so I have a proposition for everyone.”

“I have a feeling this won’t be the smartest idea if you came up with it,” Florence teased.

“Oh, shut up,” Fred replied. “Before I was rudely interrupted, I was going to offer to go to our place.”

“What are we going to do there?” Ron asked, confused.

“I can think of one thing,” George began. “Anyone up for some drinks?”

“Read my mind,” Fred added.

“You can count us in,” Ginny stated.

“Okay, then let’s get a move on,” Fred declared while standing up.

The group all made their way over to the den and bid their goodbyes mentioning that everyone is going to be at the twins and Florence's flat. Soon after, the group Apparated.

~*~

“You know I expected it to be a lot messier,” Ginny admitted, once everyone walked into the flat.

“That’s what I said!” Florence agreed.

“I would like to emphasize, once again, that the flat is clean only because of me,” George added while walking past the two girls.

“So, what are we drinking this fine evening?” Ron asked.

“Come to the kitchen and you’ll see,” Fred called out from the kitchen.

Everyone made their way over to the kitchen, where Fred was standing next to a cupboard that was filled with several bottles of firewhisky and a few bottles of muggle liquor like vodka and tequila.

“Boys, I think you have a problem,” Hermione joked.

“When did you two become alcoholics?” Florence teased. 

“Why are you two surprised? They held all the Gryffindor parties when they were in Hogwarts, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that they have a cupboard full of alcohol,” Harry pointed out.

“He has a point you know,” Ron agreed.

“If you all are quite done bickering over if Fred and I have an alcohol problem, then we can go into the sitting room, yeah?” George suggested.

The group then made their way over to the living room, sitting down and getting comfortable. On the big sofa, sat George, Harry, and Ron. To the left of the big sofa, sat Florence and Fred on the smaller-sized couch and Ginny and Hermione sitting towards George, Ron, and Harry on bean bags.

After about an hour of drinks being passed around, everyone was feeling the slight buzz of alcohol in their veins and their faces were painted with a slight red tinge. Fred came up with the brilliant idea of playing truth or drink.

“What are we, fifth years?” Florence joked after Fred’s suggestion.

“Oh, come on we can make it interesting,” Fred pleaded.

“How so?” Harry asked.

Fred looked at Harry with a mischievous look on his face. “ _ Nothing’s _ off-limits.”

“Alright fine, I’ll go first then,” Florence offered.

“I want to ask her first, I have the perfect question to ask,” Fred stated.

“ _ Fantastic _ , can't wait to see what your twisted mind has thought of,” Florence quipped.

“So, Florrie, have you ever done anything with a girl before, and if so, with who?” Fred finished with the biggest grin on his face.

“Well fuck me, we’re off to a strong start. Yes, I have, a few girls from Hogwarts and then one girl in France.”

“Bloody hell, I didn’t know you liked girls,” Ron said after Florence was finished speaking.

“Ron, she told everyone in, like, fifth year, you just never seem to pay attention,” Hermione added.

“One in France huh? Is it who I think it is, Bardeau?” Fred questioned.

“Maybe, maybe not Weasley.”

“Wait, wait, who's this mystery girl that only Fred seems to know about?” Ginny asked.

“Oh, Florence told me all about her last night, her names Am–”

Before Fred could finish his sentence Florence not so graciously slapped her hand over his mouth almost landing straight on top of him.

“We will not be disclosing that information Fred,” Florence warned, staring straight at him.

“Alright, now can you get your hand away from my mouth please?” Fred asked, his voice muffled.

“Gladly.” 

“ _ Anyway _ , Florence, it's your turn to ask Fred,” George acknowledged.

“Wonderful.”

Fred took a sip from his glass filled with Fire whiskey and flashed a grin at Florence. “Ask away, Florrie.”

“What's the farthest you've gone in a public setting?”

“Hogwarts library. I'm not discussing it further.”

“People do work on those tables, Fred, Merlin,” Florence added.

“I've got one for Ron,” Harry said, breaking the silence.

“Well, go on with it,” Ron prodded.

“Who's better in bed? Lavender or Hermione?”

“What kind of question is that? Hermione, one hundred percent.”

Ron’s answer garnered a lot of “Ooh’s” from the group, resulting in Hermione blushing a little with slight embarrassment.

“Okay, it's your turn mate,” Ron said, insinuating that it was Harry's turn. “Describe your first kiss.”

“Considering she was sort of crying, I will not be elaborating further. In other words,  _ fuck that _ ,” Harry replied immediately downing the remnants of the firewhisky in his glass.

“Don't forget the part where she was crying about her dead boyfriend,” Ron added.

“WHAT–” Fred, George, Florence, and Ginny said in unison.

“Fucking hell, Harry,” Fred said bewildered.

“I don’t think anyone’s first kiss is going to top that monstrosity,” George chimed in.

“That's exactly why I  _ don't _ want to keep talking about this,” Harry emphasized.

“George, your turn,” Harry deflected, trying to change the subject to absolutely anything else other than his first kiss. “When was the last time you had sex?”

“I think it was a month ago.”

“Merlin, Georgie you need to get laid,” Florence joked. 

“And when's the last time you got laid, Bardeau?” George shot back.

“Touché.”

“Alright who to ask…” George pondered. “Freddie.”

“This isn't going to be good,” Fred mumbled.

“Do you have your eye on a girl at the moment?”

Everyone in the room immediately went silent looking at Fred and George. At that moment Florence could have sworn Fred was going to beat George at any given moment with the look he was giving. Suddenly the girls turned their attention away from Fred and to Florence. She couldn't understand why everyone went serious with George asking that question. It was just a harmless question to tease Fred.  _ Right? _

The silence went on for what seemed like forever in her eyes when she finally broke the silence.

“Fucking hell, why so serious all of the sudden? Answer the question or drink.”

Everyone averted their gaze to Fred and Florence sat on the smaller couch, their eyes shifting from Fred and Florence. She couldn't understand what in the bloody hell was going on and why everyone was staring at her as if she had murdered someone.

After a few more moments of silence, Fred finally looked at Florence and then looked back at George, took the bottle of firewhisky from the table, and took a generous gulp.

“Well, that settles that,” Florence said, trying to move on from the awkward moment that she had just experienced.

“Okay, I’m bored of this, let’s just play some music yeah?” Fred suggested.

Everyone agreed, not wanting to carry on the awkward game any further.

The following hour everything went back to usual, everyone talking, drinking, and joking around with each other. Harry and Ron were talking about work at the Ministry with George, Hermione, and Ginny while Fred and Florence were sat listening and taking sips from their drinks now and then. 

At that moment in time, Florence was feeling the buzz of the alcohol and the dizziness that come with being drunk. While taking another sip of the golden-brown liquid in her glass she felt a pair of eyes on her. Turning her head to the right, the person staring at her was no other than Fred. It looked as if he was caught in some sort of daydream while staring right at Florence.

“Fred, I swear you have a staring problem,” Florence grinned.

Fred didn’t utter a word and just smiled up at her over her remark. He then leaned forward close up to Florence and pushed a piece of hair behind her ear. She was surprised at the sudden gesture, not expecting him to do something like that at all.

“It’s hard not to stare when you look like that,” Fred said while moving back to where he was sitting.

“Like what, Freddie?”

“Don’t play dumb, you know what I mean.”

“Mmm, I don’t think I do, love,  _ do go on _ ,” Florence ribbed.

“You look fucking gorgeous in that dress.”

“It is a nice dress I will admit.” 

“I didn’t mean the bloody dress,” Fred went on inching closer to Florence and putting his hand on her thigh. ”I meant  _ you _ look gorgeous.”

Florence didn’t know how to react to Fred being so close up and personal with her. She didn’t know if he was doing this because he was drunk off his ass or if he truly meant it. 

Florence and Fred always had a playful friendship where they like to tease and lightly flirt with each other, but he has never done anything like that before. She could admit that she was not opposed to Fred acting like this, but she didn’t know if Fred was just acting on instinct and because of the alcohol coursing through his body.

She couldn’t understand where the sudden confidence in herself came from, but she also inched closer to Fred and put her legs on his lap. To say Fred was surprised would be an understatement, but she loved the sudden wave of confidence to do something like this.

“What’s this supposed to mean, Florrie?” Fred said, pointing at her legs on this lap.

“What? I’m just getting comfortable, I have no idea what you are insinuating, Freddie,” she joked back.

“You’re cheeky you know that?”

“Do you want me to take them off?”

She slowly started pulling her legs away from Fred’s lap with a smirk playing at her lips. Before she could move them any further, Fred grabbed them and pulled them towards himself back to the position they were initially in.

“Move your legs away from my lap one more time and you’ll be facing consequences, Bardeau.” 

“Yes, sir,” Florence teased.

The rest of the night went by in a drunken blur for the group. Everyone was too intoxicated to notice Fred and Florence’s little encounter or, if they did notice, they didn’t care. The group had always made jokes and teased Fred and Florence about their relationship and always insinuated that they should be together.

The last thing Florence remembered from that night was Fred tracing random shapes with his finger on her thigh and then somehow ending up in her bed, her head hitting the pillow and immediately falling asleep.

~*~

The following morning Florence was slightly stirred awake by the sounds of Fred, George, and Hermione talking in soft voices. She didn’t know what time it was, but she could tell it was early in the morning by not hearing Ron’s or Ginny’s voice because those two were known to sleep in until noon.

Florence could feel the after-effects of alcohol. Her head was aching, and her body felt like she had been working out for several hours.

While mumbling in her head and cursing herself for drinking so much, Florence heard a soft knock on her door.

“If the person behind that door does not have a cup of coffee, then you are not allowed to come in otherwise,” Florence said half asleep, not moving from the position she woke up in.

“Good morning, sunshine, always so chipper in the morning,” Fred joked while walking towards Florence and sitting on the edge of the bed with a cup of coffee in his hand. “C’mon get up lazybones.”

“Why are you making me get up this early in the morning? Let me pretend that I’m dying in peace.”

“Alright fine here take this,” Fred said, giving the cup of coffee to Florence and then walking his way on the other side of the bed and sitting next to her.

There was an awkward silence as Florence was sipping on her coffee and Fred was looking out the window at people walking around Diagon Alley.

“Is there something you wanted to tell me, Freddie?”

“No.”

“Then why are we sitting on my bed in an awkward silence and not saying anything?”

“You’re saying something right now.” 

“Fred.”

“Alright, alright, I just wanted to say that everything I did last night was not because I was drunk, I did it because I wanted to, and I don’t want you to think that I did it purely because I was smashed.”

“Well, that’s great to know because I don’t regret anything I did last night either,”

“Glad we’re on the same page, Bardeau,” Fred commented, putting his hand on her thigh, and caressing it just like he had done last night.

“May I ask what you’re doing with your hand there Freddie?” Florence inquired, a little flustered.

“What?  _ Want me to take it off _ ?”

“Oh, you cheeky little bastard. I’m going to take a shower, Weasley,” Florence announced while getting up from the bed.

“What without me?” Fred teased.

Florence turned around from where she was standing next to her wardrobe and took the first t-shirt she saw and threw it at him, Fred catching it just in time. She rolled her eyes with a slight smile and turned back around picking out some clothes to wear.

“Fred, you better be out of this room by the time I’m done with my shower.”

Fred flashed a smile while getting up and walking towards Florence and standing mere inches away from her face.

“And what if I don’t?” Fred tempted.

“I’ll beat you with my pillow, now leave, Freddie,” Florence declared playfully.

“Alright fine, hurry up, we have to make the best of our day off before your first day of work tomorrow,” 

“Okay, okay, don’t miss me too much while I’m gone,” she quipped. 

“And she says  _ I’m _ the cheeky one,” he said to himself while leaving and closing the door behind him.

After Fred left, Florence stood in her room for a good few seconds smiling to herself and then went to the bathroom and turned on the water to have her shower. 


End file.
